The girl leading Lizzie told her that they were supposed to choose their rooms. Lizzie noticed that the girl had a riolu, and wondered for a moment if it might get along with hers. She shook off the thought and proceeded to picking a room at the end of the hall. She randomly chose to stay at the room to the right.
"This way, I won't forget which room I am in. I just remember that it is the room in a corner," She told her Riolu. Riolu groaned in response. It doubted her words because each door looked slightly different.
"What do you mean I just wanted a room in a corner?" Lizzie asked, as she entered the room. Riolu jumped off her shoulders while she was looking around.
Lizzie sat down on the bed, taking a few moments to think. "I think first we should figure out why Charmander feels down. What do you think, Riolu?" Riolu shook its head. "Alright then, what should we do?" Riolu shrugged. "That's not very helpful," Lizzie fell back on the bed and started to think.
"Maybe I could write a letter. Nah, nothing to say. Maybe go on the computer? But it's not like I have a reason to." She went to the desk and found a pencil and paper. Lizzie drew a circle. It turned out to be less than perfect. Lizzie flipped the paper over and made a few random lines with the pencil. She sighed and crumpled the paper up. After several more pieces of paper were crumpled, Lizzie decided to stop drawing and make a paper airplane. She threw it in a random direction. Riolu, who was bored as well caught it before it landed with a Quick Attack.
"You can play with that if you want to." Riolu nodded in understanding and started to toss the airplane around. Lizzie watched the plane zoom around, wondering when she could leave the room without being noticed by the rest of her team. She did not really feel like making any introductions.
As soon as Tuesday had moved through the door leading out of the main hall, Waker quickly knelt down and tapped the floor gently with his hand. Azzy bounded back from where he had been and Pora sat up, her left ear twitching disdainfully. Giving the Nidos affectionate pats on their heads, he smiled at the two before pulling out two Pokeballs from the inside of his jacket - one with a blue top and one with a violet top. He held them up questioningly, hoping that the blank faces of his Pokemon would soon change into ones of understanding.
After a few seconds, Azzy's ears perked up. "He wants to know if we want to stay in our Pokeballs and rest!" he exclaimed, the excitement of figuring out something before Pora did clearly evident in his voice. Catching the glare from his companion quickly erased that feeling of accomplishment. "Um, so, I'll sit this one out, then."
"What?" Pora asked, stunned. Azzy was usually trying to be the centre of attention, a blurred violet ball of hyperactivity and rash decisions. With a sheepish grin, Azzy sat on his back legs and scratched his ear. "Why?"
"Well, uh. No offense Pora, but Waker doesn't really call you out much." Before the Nidorina could say a word, Azzy kept on. "I mean, he always has me out, and Locke's been getting a lot of attention recently, and you know that once we're out of this place he's going to spend all of his time with that Vulpix. I just think that you should have some time with him, for once."
Before Pora could shake the look of shock off her face and protest, Azzy stood up and tapped the release on the violet-topped ball, disappearing in a flash of light. Blinking, Pora could only watch as Waker put the Pokeballs back in his jacket, pausing briefly to re-adjust Pora's barrette before standing up and following the other Espeon team members out the door.
Pora followed her trainer, much quieter then she'd ever been.
Riolu felt that it would be a good time to open the room door. For one thing, her Trainer was distracted. She was busy drawing something on a piece of paper. Riolu threw the paper airplane at the wall as fast as she could. It hit the wall with a thwack . She sighed, as if to say that the room was too small for throwing paper planes. She needed an excuse to get the door open, after all.
Riolu headed to the door. She managed to grab the doorknob after a few jumps and rotated the knob by pushing against the door-frame. With the door now open, Riolu picked up the paper airplane and threw it into the hall way. She chased it into the hallway and caught it in midair.
"Don't mind me, I am just playing with something my trainer gave me!" Riolu declared. Lizzie, Riolu's trainer, heard her pokemon's voice. She looked around for Riolu, finding her in the hallway.
"Can't I do my own things without having to chase you around?" She whined. Riolu knew that she was just being sarcastic. Lizzie really did not mind chasing Riolu around, especially in the bored state she was in. Riolu gave her trainer one of her disapproving looks. She did not mind the sarcasm too much. Riolu just felt that her trainer did not want to meet the other trainers. Why her trainer was so nice to her, Charmander, and a few other select people or pokemon but quiet and maybe a bit mean to others was a mystery to the young Riolu.
"Alright, I will stop being so lazy." Riolu's trainer had interpreted her incorrectly. "Where do you want to go?" she asked. Riolu looked around, hoping that the other trainers noticed a paper airplane flying out of the right room at the end of the hall.
"Paper airplane!"
The pokeball on Tuesday's belt containing her ever-energetic riolu exploded open with this cry, and the riolu appeared, flipping gracefully and landing to catch the thrown paper airplane before it crash landed onto the carpet. He raised it aloft. "Victoria!" With a flashing grin, he sent it sailing through the air back toward the other riolu. "Me llamo Zorro," he said with his trademark grin. "Y tu?"
As Zorro was introducing himself to the riolu, tossing the paper airplane back and forth, Tuesday made her way quickly over to the girl coming out of her chosen bedroom. She was still rather embarrassed at her lack of manners, but she could fix that now.
Stopping in front of the girl, Tuesday held out her hand to shake the girl's. "I'm sorry for being so rude before," she apologized, unable to stop the blush that crept up her cheeks. "I'm Tuesday." She made a motion with her left hand at her two present pokemon. "That's Zorro, and there's Ashleigh." She turned back to the girl. "So... what's your name?"
"Ah? nice to meet you?" Riolu looked confused. It did not understand Zorro. There were some things that did not need to be spoken, however, like the grin Zorro had and the airplane flying in its direction. Riolu jumped up to get it, but reacted too slow and missed. The airplane ended up hitting its nose.
"Whoops! Your turn to catch it!" Riolu threw the airplane back to Zorro.
Meanwhile, the two trainers were talking... in a sense anyway.
"My name? Uh," Lizzie did not see too much harm in giving her name away. "Elizabeth, but I prefer Lizzie." She was curious about the origin of Tuesday's name, but said nothing. She instead looked at Ashleigh. After trying to figure out what it was, she smacked her head lightly. She had apparently forgotten about the pokedex she received from professor Rowan. She took it out and scanned the pokemon.
"Houndoom, the Dark Pokemon. The evolved form of Houndour. It has an eerie howl that is said to make even the bravest shudder with fear."
Pora stared blankly at Ashleigh, astounded that there was a Pokemon in the world that talked faster than Azzy. Shaking her head, she quickly put on what she hoped was a polite smile, thumping her tail against the floor.
"I'm sure you'll be great in a Contest," she said, looking up to Waker for confirmation. However, the boy was staring at the corner, where the hallway they were standing in and another met. There was a confused, curious look on his face. Pora dearly hoped that he wouldn't run off mid-conversation.
"I mean, um. Well, Fire-types do especially well in Beauty Contests, but if strength is more of your forte, I can hazard a guess that you'd excel in that was well." Waker was beginning to inch away, and Pora swiftly tapped his foot with her tail. The boy stopped and sheepishly bit his lip, still looking back at the corner.
"You'd have to eat some fairly sour berries, though. I prefer them bitter, and Azzy - my companion - likes them spicy. And as for the pretty factor, you seem to be very well-groomed. I've met some Houndooms who - oh, for the love of Arceus!"
Waker had somehow snuck off while Pora wasn't paying attention and was now rapidly approaching the intersection of the hallways. Quickly excusing herself, Pora started to run full-tilt toward her coordinator - only to be stopped rather abruptly when he turned around and smacked into her. Rubbing her head briefly as an apology, he sprinted back toward Tuesday, pulling out his notebook and writing quickly as he went.
---
While Pora spoke to the Houndoom and Tuesday started examining rooms for their final teammate, Waker took the opportunity to look around. The mansion really was a nice place - he wished he'd brought a camera with him to Furoh now - and he bet that the view from the windows was nothing short of amazing. There was a square of light on the floor around a corner nearby; maybe there was a window there?
Before he could move, though, a flash of yellow and black caught his eye on the other side of the hallway. Frowning, he tried to remember where he'd seen that colour combination before. Pora cleared her throat none-too-gently and whacked his foot with her tail, reminding him to be polite. Waker sighed and looked longingly at the hallway. He'd really love to explore this place, maybe find out what the black-and-yellow thing was...
Wait!
Waker quickly scrambled though his pockets, withdrawing the Espeon card in triumph. Sure enough, underneath the picture of the Psychic Pokemon, there were three smaller images - one was of the yellow-and-black Pichu. Waker skimmed over the words next to it excitement, and swiftly turned and ran to the corner, hoping that the Pichu was still there.
Disappointed, he turned and sprinted back to Tuesday - running into Pora on the way - and flipped open his notebook, writing as neatly as he could.
Tuesday sighed as the pokedex mechanically informed them of Ashleigh pokemon species. "Personally, I think that description is biased. There's more to houndoom than their howls. Ashleigh can be frightening, of course, but he's one of the most loyal pokemon I've ever seen." She could hear the houndoom's tail thumping heavily on the floor and turned to smile at him, and saw Waker walking up to her with a new note.
She read the note quickly and grinned. "You're going to laugh, but I actually forgot we needed to find the tags." She grinned sheepishly and rubbed the side of her face. "Well, you saw the pichu, Waker, so lead on, mo capitan!" She made an over-exaggerated motion with her hand in the direction he had indicated, and smiled partially in embarrassment, as she walked to stand by Ashleigh, the houndoom rising to his feet.
As they began to walk, she scratched the large dog between the horns where he liked it best. "Did you make a new friend, Ashleigh?" she asked. If the whipping of his tail was any indication, she had been spot on in her determination.
Tuesday blinked and then ducked abruptly in the same instance that Ashleigh barked. Zorro, with a look of surprise but pleasure on his face, went flying over her head, a somewhat-crumpled paper airplane in his paw. He flipped in midair and landed gracefully on his feet, before tossing the airplane toward Lizzie's riolu, still behind Tuesday.
The young girl rolled her eyes and met Ashleigh's gaze in an exasperated look that he returned. "Zorro's always making friends, isn't he?" she asked softly. Ashleigh merely barked in response, tail wagging.
Tuesday turned to Lizzie with a smile on her face. "So, Lizzie, what are your plans here in Furoh? Are you going out for battling or contests?"
Lizzie was walking with the group, thinking about how the Pichu could be captured. She did not have a lot of time to think, because Tuesday asked her about her plans in Furoh.
"Battles, most likely," Lizzie replied. "It seems easier," she added, a possible after-effect of the big smile Tuesday wore.
"I don't have any pokemon for contests anyway. Maybe Charmander, but, besides, contests don't suit me. " Lizzie's mind started to wander, like it did before Tuesday spoke to her.
"That's a misconception," Tuesday pointed out, raising the index finger of her right hand in an unconscious attempt to note that she was making an important point. "Battles are generally no easier or more difficult than contests, but the specific capabilities of the trainer in question, taking into account, will mark your affiliation with one particular set of activities.
"My friend Darryn, for instance, is a capable battler, but he's brilliant when it comes to contests. His knowledge of fashion and pokemon abilities is brilliant, as is his own ability at choreographing moves to bring about the most visually-dynamic appeals.
"In contrast, my brother, Jaima, isn't really good at contests. He's a great battler, though - far better than I am. He can think on his feet like that." She tried snapping her fingers, and pouted a little when her attempt (and a few following attempts) failed. "Anyway, Jaima's a strategist when it comes to offensive tactics, mostly. Darryn's great when it comes to style and visage." She shrugged a little, adding modestly, "I've tried my hand at both and I'm nowhere near as good as either of them."
Walking at her side, Ashleigh growled softly in disagreement, but Tuesday tapped his head between the horns and he quieted. Still, he didn't agree with her assessments of herself. Tuesday was a great battler, but she succeeded differently than both the pretty one and the alpha. She choreographed moves in sync with other attacks and defenses, in order to create even more power maneuvers. It was brilliant, but it made Ashleigh both sad and angry that she couldn't see that.
"So if battling is easier for you," Tuesday continued speaking, and Ashleigh allowed himself to be pulled back toward the active conversation, "perhaps you're better at strategizing tactical procedures than you are at planning stylistic visuals. It's good to have a powerful focus. After all, if you focus on too many things at once, you don't excel at anything in particular."
She grinned, and opened her mouth to continue speaking, when the building seemed to shake, a rumbling sound meeting their ears. Tuesday froze, closing her mouth slowly, as she looked around.
Ashleigh had frozen, crouching low to the ground and glancing from side to side, his tail dropped between his legs. Zorro had dropped the paper airplane, ignoring it as it went sailing in a suicidal mission toward the stone wall. He bounded back to Tuesday on strong legs and wrapped his forepaws around her waist, holding onto her tight.
"What's going-"
A seering flash of pain erupted through Tuesday's skull so fast it cut off all of her senses and replaced it with pure, white-hot agony. She clapped both hands to her forehead and bent over, trying to push the pain away. The pull on her mind was immense, terrifying, and unmistakable but confusing. She knew there was danger - immediate and profound - but she had no idea what it was or where it was coming from.
Her senses returned abruptly. The pain didn't dissipate, fade, or even lessen in degree, but suddenly she could hear again the rumbling of the building around them. She could see the flickering of the candlelight dancing in wild panic on the walls. She could feel Zorro's grip tighten around her waist, his muzzle pressed against her ribcage. She could taste the bitter cold of the air. She could smell the snow.
And something else... something more... a sixth sense, undefinable, unclear, and yet there - through that, she could feel, as well, something coming, nearer and nearer, and dangerous. A cruel wave of emotionless danger that rushed at them like a plow, ready to consume them all.
Two things became abruptly clear; two things that needed to be dealt with immediately.
One was that they and their pokemon were in danger.
The other was that nothing was stopping this incoming horror.
Ashleigh's pokeball was in Tuesday's hand in an instant, and she recalled the houndoom without a word, the frightened, shaken creature returning to the safety of the capsule without a complaint.
Tuesday didn't bother grabbing Zorro's pokeball. She knew he would fight her recalling him with his every ounce of strength, despite whatever fear he might be experiencing. She also knew that he was not as susceptible to what was coming as Ashleigh, though she couldn't explain how she knew. Still, it was something, and she had become accustomed long ago to knowing things without knowing how she knew them.
Perhaps Brone or Cassandra were sending her psychic suggestions. That would be helpful.
"Lizzie, get with your riolu," Tuesday commanded, her voice sharp and containing none of the submissive tones that normally inhabited it when speaking with others. She wrapped an arm around Zorro as he clung to her, and together they stepped back instinctively, away from what was suddenly a danger zone (though it was clear that there was no place within the vicinity that wasn't a danger zone).
"Hang on, Zorro," Tuesday whispered, though she did not know why.
A moment later, a wave of snow, white as unconsciousness and cold as Dis, came like a plague through every orifice of the building, consuming the hallway and everything within it.
"It's dangerous! Return!" Lizzie exclaimed as she returned her Riolu. It was good that it could tell that there was going to be danger. She quickly placed its pokeball on her belt.
CRASH
Something fell down, an alert that something was coming. Something big. Very big.
Lizzie was thankful for the alert from Tuesday, as the snow would probably have swallowed up both her and Riolu if she had reacted at the time of the crash. She ran as fast as she could, but humans, unlike pokemon, could never hope to outrun Mother Nature. Before she knew it, she was buried in cold, wet, snow. The sweatshirt she was wearing helped block out the cold a little, but Lizzie realized when the snow around her melted she would be freezing, sweatshirt ,or not.
"Charmander, that's it... no, the water from the melting snow. That would only put Charmander in danger. Riolu? it can't get me out, but it might be able to save Charmander and get help, or, they will be saved if I don't make it. Right, It might be too cramped to open Riolu's pokeball, but snow is mostly air, right?" Lizzie wiggled around in the little space she had. She somehow managed to withdraw her arms from the sleeves of her sweatshirt . Her cold hands struggled to the spot on her belt where she had hurriedly placed her Riolu's pokeball. The return trip from the belt to the cavity between her sweatshirt and shirt was easier since some of the snow was pushed away while Lizzie was reaching for the pokeball.
"Riolu," She whispered. Riolu popped out after feeling that it was safe. It could not understand why there was snow everywhere. It looked at Lizzie for an explanation.
"Trapped, save Charmander," Lizzie said quickly, using as few words as possible, "Quick Attack out at an angle." Riolu understood and reached for Charmander's pokeball. After grabbing it, it held it between its teeth for safe keeping. With one Quick Attack, it darted through the snow at roughly a forty-five degree angle. The snow from above filled the gap, blocking the Emanation Pokemon from view.
"Good luck..." Lizzie knew that it was all or nothing for Riolu. However, she felt that she should cling to whatever chance of surviving there is, instead of waiting to die. There was too much to live for, after all, like her parents. beating Carl. Making him take back what he said about her being a sissy a long time ago.....
Riolu was aware that her Trainer was in danger. She forced its way through the snow with a sense of pride; she got to rescue the very trainer who helped her a few years back. Are you watching? I have gotten much stronger since the day you rescued me. Now, I will help you so we can spend more time together! Riolu managed to burst out of the snow with one last Quick Attack. Trouble was, she had no idea where her trainer was.
"Come out, Charmander! Lizzie is in trouble!"
"What? No! After everything we got to do together!" Charmander cried,
"why did she tell you to carry my pokeball out of the snow, I wonder?"
"I guess she was afraid of letting your tail flame loose in such a small space. But, we really should get Lizzie out of there.
"Aren't you cold?" Charmander asked out of concern.
"Your tail flame can warm me up, but Rescuing Lizzie is more important right now. Try using Flamethrower there." Riolu pointed at the patch of snow it just emerged from.
"I-Wonder-Why-We-Aren't-Sinking-In-The-Snow," Charmander commented between flamethrowers.
"I guess it's because we are light pokemon," Riolu answered. "Don't talk to me, I'm trying to spot Lizzie. It would be easier if I had some sort of power, like that 'Aura' thing Aunt Starapter told me about. Too bad there are only, what, three pokemon that can use it, right?" Charmander gagged, then burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, Auntie never told you? You evolve into Lucario, the aura pokemon. Aura. AURA!"Charmander giggled.
"Very- hey! I think that's Lizzie!" Riolu bounded towards a patch of grey through snow that was half-melted by Charmander's Flamethrower. With a bit of help from Charmander, Riolu managed to pull Lizzie out of the snow.
"Well, she's no longer buried..."
"But she is out cold, and needs warming up, fast."
Whether Tuesday blacked out or not, she didn't know and probably never would. The first thing that she became consciously aware of since the collapsing wave of snow around her was the feel of Zorro's arms, wrapped tightly around her waist. His nose was buried against her side and she could feel his hot breath against her skin every time he breathed. The snow was packed tightly around them and Tuesday's right hand hurt from the cold, but she could bear it for a while if she had to.
Blinking a few times, realizing that she had her eyes closed, Tuesday gazed at the area in front of her. The snow wasn't so tightly pressed against her face, the temperature of her exhaling breaths having succeeded in melting some of it.
I must have passed out as least for a little while, she thought, sighing. There was too much snow melted in front of her for it to have been otherwise, and that worried her. She did quite enough fainting on her own, without the inclusion of natural disasters and being buried in the elements. Although she did not like the idea, it was only safe to be wary of a possible concussion.
She clenched her right hand, burying her fingers in Zorro's soft fur. She felt him tense immediately and then relax, realizing that it was her. She was glad that he was conscious.
"Zorro," she whispered softly. She felt his head move as he pulled his nose away from where it was buried against her, protecting his ability to breathe. The snow around them shifted at his moments and he stopped, clearly waiting for her instructions. "No matter what happens," she explained to him slowly, making sure that he was able to understand her even though they were buried beneath the snow, "don't let me fall asleep." She knew that if she did have a concussion, it would be better diagnosed by someone else than herself, and the possibility of one meant that if she went to sleep, she might not wake up. "Comprende?" she asked softly in his own tongue.
She felt his head lean against her side and then he nuzzled her softly, clearly understanding both her words and her reasoning, but hoping she was wrong. Tuesday felt the same.
Now that one crisis was done, Tuesday focused her mind on the fact that she and Zorro was buried Goddess-knew-how-deep in snow. She knew that when an avalanche was moving, you were supposed to swim like you were in water. The prospect made her shiver and the snow shifted. She froze instantly.
All right, so the swimming option is out, since the snow has stopped moving. Except when I shift, which means we have to be careful. I don't know how deep we are. She paused, chewing her lip. I don't know what position we're in, either. She tried to tap her feet on the floor but felt only snow beneath her. For all she knew, they could have been upside-down. The snow was packed too tightly for her hair to give any clues.
Spit test, she concluded. Leaning her head forward a little ways into the gap formed by her warm breath, Tuesday let the saliva build up in her mouth for a moment, before she spit.
The small drop of liquid fell outward from her at a gentle angle. Tuesday sighed in relief. They weren't standing straight, but at least their heads weren't toward the floor. The last thing anyone needed was for them to start moving downward through the snow.
Thank you, Uncle DeBrody, for teaching me things I was sure were completely useless.
"Zorro... are you ready to try and get out of here?" She felt his grip tighten around her waist, knowing he was worried. "It's not safe to stay here," she admitted, though she chose not to verbally admit that it was equally as dangerous to try and leave their position. In truth, they should remain where they were and wait for help to arrive. There were problems with that, however.
One, some of Tuesday's pokemon were back in the room that she had chosen as her own, in who knows what condition.
Two, Lizzie and her pokemon had been caught in the avalanche as well and she might need immediate help.
Three, Tuesday didn't like being stuck in a cold, enclosed place that dripped and slicked like a tunneled river.
People, or pokemon, might need her help. She wasn't going to sit still, in that case.
"Zorro, I'm going to put you back in your pokeball," she told him, but he slapped her hand when she reached toward her belt. She sighed. She didn't want to make him risk his safety because she was stubborn, but she hadn't really expected anything less.
"You're going to get yourself hurt, being so much like me," she whispered.
She heard a distinctive snort of derision beside her, and then there was a flash of movement. Snow fluttered down around her, both like feathers and as clumps, as Zorro made a leap through a weak part of their prison, and landed gracefully some feet above where he had been standing moments ago. Tuesday blinked away the snow that had fallen on her eyelids and stared up at him worriedly. "Careful, Zorro," she said softly, as he bounded again.
Zorro slipped on the ice one his second bound, but was able to regain his equilibrium swiftly enough. He stared back down at Tuesday, his golden eyes full of their own level of concern. Of course, she was telling him to be careful because she was worried about him. It bothered him (and he realized now why Dante was so often unwilling to leave her side for a moment) that she took so very little time to concern herself with her own well-being. Yes, he very well could slip and fall, but the snow was shifting at his every movement, and she was beneath him. She wanted out and he agreed, but he was worried. He prayed he would not force the snow to shift to such a degree that he suffocated his hermana. He could not bear it.
He moved his head from side to side, burrowing lightly into the snow so that he only sent down feathery flakes of it. Poking his head into the mass, he smelled warmer, fresh air. Leaping up again, he pushed through the surface of the snow and out into the open. With a happy yip, he climbed back down to where Tuesday was and, with both patience and finesse, helped her out of the packed prison and onto the surface of the snow.
Tuesday huffed a sigh of relief, as she settled down on top of the snow. She took a few grateful minutes to relax, before she allowed herself to look around. It was then that she discovered Lizzie and her two pokemon, the charmander and riolu. The two of them were huddled around the girl's unconscious form.
"Did she hit her head?" Tuesday asked, as she made her way over to Lizzie, sliding on the ice to keep from having to raise her feet and risk tumbling over and down some graceless hole in the snow cover. The riolu hesitated in her movements, but shook her head uncertainly.
"Hopefully just the shock, then," Tuesday said. She did a mental tally in her head and didn't like the results. She had left Tempest and Dante (the egg in Dante's care) back in the room she had chosen, since the two seemed to prefer sleeping rather than tagging along on a scavenger hunt. Not only was Dante her oldest companion in time since having "captured" him, but asides from Odysseus, he was the most mature. He was also the most proficient of her pokemon at fire. She could have used his help right now, but that couldn't be helped. He was too far away.
Odysseus, as a water-type pokemon, wouldn't be much use unless they needed to make an ice bridge or wanted to cryogenically freeze themselves, which Tuesday didn't plan to ask for anytime soon. It seemed that her two pokemon on hand were Zorro and Ashleigh. Ashleigh had the better nose and balance from four legs, but he also had better hearing and was warmer than Zorro. As much as she didn't wish to fulfill her plans without Ashleigh's capabilities, Lizzie needed him more at the moment. That thought in mind, she called him out.
Ashleigh appeared abruptly in a flash of red light, standing tall and looking around with wary concern. He was not stupid, however much he often acted it, and the manner in which he had been recalled screamed that there had been danger. He saw what it was now, and turned to Tuesday, awaiting a command that he would loyally obey without question.
"Ashleigh, I want you to curl up with Lizzie," Tuesday said, her tone one of authority, strangely so. Ashleigh's tail thumped once at this realization, but he continued to listen aptly. "Your heated skin should keep her warm." Biting her lip, hating the thought, Tuesday stepped over and felt Lizzie's skin. It was cold from the proximity of the snow, but the girl wasn't hypothermic, which made Tuesday sigh heavily in relief. She would have had to make a series of important assurances before she left if that had been the case, not the least of which would have been explaining to the pokemon not to let Lizzie's arms pull close to her body. However, the girl was safe from that for the moment. Stop thinking about it, Tuesday mentally growled at herself, and went back to the topic at hand.
"Zorro and I are going to go and find something burnable - a chair or lampstand or something. I don't anything will be of much use beyond that, anyway. Keep her warm, Ashleigh," Tuesday said, as the houndoom gently moved to lie next to the unconscious girl, curling his warm mass around her. "We'll be back soon. If anything happens, howl."
Ashleigh nodded, chuffing in understanding. With a wary look at each other, Tuesday and Zorro turned and left in search of some burnable ware. Hopefully they wouldn't have to go far, and even more hopefully, they wouldn't get stranded, or lost.
There was something warm and comfortable around Lizzie's body. She opened her eyes, hoping that she was out of the frozen corridor. Before she could get a clear view of her surroundings, something moist and pink ran up her face. It was gross to Lizzie, who had never been licked before, yet, strangely pleasant.
"Thank you," Lizzie petted the Houndoom as it got up. It bounded over to Tuesday, who was sitting around a medium-sized fire. It was hard to tell what was being used to fuel the fire, proof that Lizzie had been out of it for a while. Lizzie looked around the corridor. While she may not be entirely safe yet, at least she was still alive. That was something to be thankful for.
"Charmander!" Lizzie's Charmander hugged her, he was also glad that his trainer was fine. Ashleigh's warm body was so large that she had not noticed it. Her Riolu was beside Charmander. It was looking at her with gleaming eyes.
"You did a very good job," Lizzie rubbed Riolu on her head while petting Charmander on his, "It wasn't too cold for you, was it, Riolu?" Riolu shook her head.
"Rio, rio!" she exclaimed cheerfully.
"I guess it's only good manners to thank the person who rescued me," Lizzie told Riolu, "So..." Riolu jumped onto its usual spot on Lizzie's shoulders. The familiar weight was comforting.
"Charmander, how are you feeling?" Charmander looked cheerful. Seeing his Trainer alright must have made him forget why he was upset in the first place. It walked alongside Lizzie as she made her way to the fire.
"Um, well, I would like to thank you for rescuing me," Lizzie said to Tuesday, as an impatient growl emerged from her stomach. "That was embarrassing," Lizzie muttered to herself.
"Your riolu and charmander are to thank for your rescue," Tuesday said, nodding to the respective pokemon. They had you out of the snow before Zorro and I were able to make our way out, and I only managed that with his help." She smiled at the growling of Lizzie's stomach. "I imagine that dinner is postponed." She flipped open the flap of her messenger bag and pulled out a couple granola bars, handing a few to Lizzie. "I'm afraid I left my frying pan in my other bag, so these will have to do us for now."
Tuesday had no plans of leaving her frying pan out of her reach. Her next stop was going to be her room, if she had any say about it. She would feel much more confident if Dante and Tempest were with her.
She chewed thoughtfully on a granola bar, as she stared into the fire. She wasn't so much of a fool as to think it would be an easy trip. She and Zorro had seen corridors completely blocked by snow. In some places, ceiling lights had crashed to the ground and started fires. The flames were kept at bay by the snow soaking the ground and taking away one of its energy sources, but Tuesday hadn't been confident that it would remain that way.
By the time Odysseus was done, the floor was coated in a thick sheet of ice that would be treacherous to navigate. They would find a way, though. Tuesday didn't know the abilities of Lizzie's pokemon specifically, but Ashleigh had a good nose and all of her pokemon were smart. They'd make it back to the room, and then they'd find a way to meet up with the other teams. There was safety in numbers.
Turning to Lizzie, Tuesday explained her plans.
Lizzie was surprised. She did not expect her pokemon to dig her out by themselves. It must have been tiring for Charmander, who probably did most of the work. She opened and slipped the granola bars to her pokemon. They did help rescue her, after all. She peeled open another granola bar and started nibbling on it herself.
Tuesday explained her plans to Lizzie while she ate. She was mostly silent, there wasn't really anything she wanted to add. With two fire-types, digging through the snow will not be much trouble. The main problem was trying to meet the other teams.
"I think we should start moving soon," Lizzie said. She was not too keen on staying in the dark corridor. Her pokemon were tired and she did not want to wear them out even more. Lizzie made sure that Charmander had finished eating before calling it to her side. After that, she picked her shivering Riolu up. She hoped that the shivers came from excitement, not fear or cold. Lizzie looked at Tuesday's direction, waiting for her input. She was the more experienced of the two, after all.
"I agree," Tuesday said in response to Lizzie's suggestion that they leave soon. It was a wise idea not to stay in a secluded place like this where danger was all around them. Tuesday was also a but worried about the fire and the proximity of two fire pokemon causing the snow to weaken beneath them.
She shoved the last of her granola bar into her mouth and stood up, pocketing her wrapper. "Let's get going, then," she said, kicking the fire apart and letting the snow smother the flames. She raised her eyes to the charmander and smiled at him. "I imagine you'll make a wonderful torch, won't you, Little Fire?" She looked at Lizzie as she shouldered her pack. "I don't remember if you ever told me, Lizzie - what are your charmander and riolu's names?" She couldn't recall if Lizzie had told her or not, but she didn't recall any new names in her memory. But then, she did have a feeling that she whacked her head at some point, having gone unconscious. At least she didn't have a headache.
"Well, there's no telling what we'll find, but I suppose we'll just head back the way we came," Tuesday suggested. "If we run into any roadblocks, then we can simply turn around." I hope.
"Mi heremana make bueno leader," Zorro commented to Ashleigh.
The houndoom's tongue lolled out excitedly. "Yeahyeah! And she gives good bellyrubs!"
The two grinned at each other as they followed Tuesday, Zorro bounding from her side to the far back of the group, and Ashleigh walking at the back. The positions were done instinctively. Zorro, with his lithe and quick movements, could easily skate around on the ice if there was danger. Ashleigh, the largest of the present pokemon, would watch their backs. It might have been paranoia that led them to take such precautions, but they were gratefully for such things after ten minutes of walking, when Ashleigh let out a sudden, sharp bark.
The lot of them spun around at the added sound of metal against metal and came face to face with a small, quick weasel pokemon.
"Shards," Tuesday cursed, taking an instinctive step back. "That's a sneasel." The pokemon were known to be vicious and cruel, and Tuesday didn't imagine that he would settle for a handful of berries and granola.
"Ashleigh..." she warned.
The sneasel lunged abruptly. "Ember attack!"
"Names, huh? I can't think of anything fitting." It was true that Lizzie had thought about naming her pokemon, but none of the names she came up with seemed to stick.
"This is exciting," Riolu commented.
"I guess..." Charmander had more important things on his mind. He was hoping that everyone would be able to make it out safely.
With Charmander there, the dark hallway did not seem so foreboding. The warm light from its tail surrounded the area, and it started to feel more like an exploration that a disaster scene.
Ashleigh's barkcaused Lizzie to pause. She looked around, knowing that the Houndoom had spotted something. She saw a Sneasel dart away out of the corner of her eye. Another Sneasel from the opposite direction lunged at Ashleigh. It looked like two Sneasels were working together, for whatever reason.
Charmander must be tired from digging me out. They also look pretty fast, and Charmander might not be able to keep up with its speed. I guess Riolu is my best choice right now.
"Right," Lizzie told herself after mentally coming to a conclusion, "Riolu, Quick Attack the sneasel over there!" The second Sneasel had decided to charge at Charmander, but Riolu managed to knock it off guard. It Leered at Riolu. It was a little surprised, but otherwise fine.
"Another Quick Attack!" Riolu's attack connected, but it did not seem as powerful as it could have been. The Sneasel was knocked away, but it recovered quickly and headed towards Riolu with a Quick Attack of its own. It hit before Lizzie could tell Riolu to dodge, causing Riolu to slam into a wall. Sneasel jumped back and away from Riolu.
"Try using Endure!" Lizzie yelled, as the Sneasel prepared to launch another Quick Attack. Riolu seemed to absorb the Quick attack, leaving the Sneasel at close range. It gave Riolu a quick Scratch before jumping away again to gain distance.
"Try to Quick Attack it mid-jump!" Riolu aimed a Quick Attack on the Sneasel and sent it flying up towards the ceiling. The Sneasel fell onto the floor and fainted.
"That was good, Riolu." Riolu gave Lizzie a tired, but happy, look. Lizzie looked for the other Sneasel, but had a feeling that it was already defeated.
Tuesday hadn't noticed the second sneasel.
The first had taken all of her attention once it lunged at Ashleigh. Only the sounds of battle from behind her as Lizzie's pokemon battled told her that they had a second opponent. She would not send Zorro to help, however - that would be insulting toward the other girl, even though she had admitted that Tuesday had more experience. Tuesday knew that experience came from taking on battles and events such as these by oneself.
Besides, this first sneasel was putting up enough of a fight.
"Ashleigh, watch your eyes!" Tuesday called, as the sneasel made a fury swipe attack at the houndoom's face. Ashleigh lowered his head, the claws of the sneasel parring against his thick horns and sending the weasel pokemon leaping backward, shaking his hands in pain.
"Ashleigh, try a smog attack!"
"DOOM!" Ashleigh howled loudly, his head thrown back. Tuesday saw Zorro flinch away at the cry in fear - an involuntary reaction that many seemed to suffer at such a sound. The riolu recovered quickly, however. In the time it took for the toxic black smoke to gush from the glands in Ashleigh's throat, Zorro had pilfered another costume from his bag and was now dancing from foot to foot, jabbing at the air in front of him with the boxing gloves he was wearing. He grinned cheekily when he saw Tuesday looking, and she just shook her head and turned to see the sneasel coughing at the effects of the smog attack.
Right... so sneasel are dual dark and ice types. This makes them weak to fire attacks, but they're also very quick, and we'll have to be careful that if the fire attacks miss, they don't melt something that will cause a collapse in the snow. She groaned internally. I hate snow.
"Ashleigh, move fast and get in close. Go for a bite attack, but watch the claws."
"DOOM!" With a snarl, Ashleigh lunged forward. His movements, often so floppy in puppy-esque glee, were suddenly well-though-out and executed, his body low to the ground, tail dropped between his legs. The thin fur on his back was sticking up in rage and his crimson eyes were narrowed, mouth open to show off his pretty fangs, dripping with saliva as hot breath ghosted from his mouth in the cold air of the hall. There was a moment when he and the sneasel both paused, gazing across at each other, as though sizing up the other through the hatred gleaming in their eyes.
And then they both lunged.
The sneasel moved like silent death, swift and unavoidable. Ashleigh lunged like a luxray, yet charged like a tauros in the same instant. As the sneasel slashed at his face, Ashleigh rose on his hind legs, jaws snapping wetly, saliva splashing from his lips. The sneasel's furious swipe missed his face, and Ashleigh's jaws clamped down on the weasel's claws. The sneasel released a hissing shriek in pained rage, and Ashleigh growled, low in his throat, as he tightened his jaws.
There was the sound of something breaking, shattering, and then the sneasel was merely shrieking. Throwing his head and body back, Ashleigh ripping the sneasel right off of its feet and threw it backward, opening his mouth and releasing the pokemon into the air. The sneasel went flying with a cry and Ashleigh spun with a snarl, facing it as it tried to right itself in the air.
"Ember, and don't miss!" Tuesday cried.
Ashleigh snarled agreeably, his mouth filling with flames. He let them loose with a howl, and their aim was true.
The sneasel opened its mouth, shrieking, and a wind suddenly picked up, blowing in their direction. Tuesday shivered, hunkering down, but her eyes widened as she watched Ashleigh's ember attack dissipate completely before it touched the sneasel. She racked her brain and then rolled her eyes at her own stupidity.
"Icy Wind, I'm a moron," she said. This has to be a well-experienced sneasel, though, for it to know such a powerful attack. In which case, we may be in for a bit more than I had anticipated. Or maybe... It was a long shot, but worth a shot, at least. "Ashleigh, roar!" If they could scare the sneasel away, that might solve their problems without them having to weaken themselves to defeat it.
Planting his feet firmly, Ashleigh threw his head forward and roared, a deep-throated sound that ripped from him. Even Tuesday felt herself chill at the sound, her breath catching. She found herself exhaling slowly, as though to do so quickly would have her the main focus of the houndoom's ire, although she knew that Ashleigh would never do anything to harm her.
The sneasel froze at the sound, its pupils dilating as the fear-inducing attack took effect. There was a moment when all was calm and still.
And then sneasel bolted, right for Tuesday.
Zorro flashed into view instantaneously, his speed bringing him between the sneasel and Tuesday. The weasel pokemon hissed, slashing sharply with its claws. Zorro dropped down on one knee in the sneasel's line of fire, his body taking on a blue tint that Shadow would have said matched the color of his aura. The sneasel's claws slashed down and hit him, only to freeze immediately upon impact.
There was a moment when the world froze, and then Zorro's counter attack took effect. The sneasel released a cry of surprise as it was flung backward through the air by the force of its own attack. Zorro was on his feet in an instant, leaping into the air. He flipped and crashed into the sneasel feet-first, sending the weasel pokemon plummeting sharply into the ground.
Blue light forming around his hand, Zorro quick attacked to the sneasel, who was rising to its feet angrily, hissing, and landed on its back, sending it face-first into the snow. Placing his hand on the sneasel's back, Zorro released his Force Palm attack, the blue light exploding around the weasel's form.
It spun, slashing with its claws. Zorro leapt away and then quick attacked to the side to avoid a faint attack. The sneasel was sent sprawling when Zorro quick attacked it from behind, and swiftly succumbed to unconsciousness once it was forced into the ground again.
With a sigh, Tuesday hugged Zorro tight, already having given Ashleigh a congratulatory and grateful chin-scratch. "Thanks, guys," she whispered, and then turned to Lizzie. "You all right? We should move on before our friends are joined by the cavalry."
The Sneasel that Tuesday battled was obviously more experienced than the one Lizzie did. The fact that their battle took longer was proof. Because of the difference in abilities, Lizzie thought that the Sneasel attacking Tuesday might have been a parent trying to teach its child to battle. It was lucky that Lizzie finished off the weaker Sneasel before the Roar, however. The sound would have been very distracting for Riolu as well as herself.
Lizzie watched as Zorro finished off the Sneasel. The attack where Zorro placed its paw-hand on the Sneasel looked very interesting. She considered asking Tuesday what it was called, but refrained herself from speaking. She would find out the attack's name eventually.
"We're okay," Lizzie replied when Tuesday suggested moving ahead, "Moving on sounds good."
”That was an awesome, awesome battle!” Ashleigh declared, happily dancing as he followed Tuesday and the other quiet girl. ”We did really, really good, huh? I really liked your glow-y paw trick! It was pretty! Could you teach me to do that! No, probably not, huh, ‘cuz that’s Aura and I don’t have Aura. I have the power of-“ He struck a sudden pose. ”Awesome!”
Zorro, rather than be disturbed by Ashleigh’s hyperness or annoyed at the questions he wasn’t given a chance to answer, was grinning.
”We did bueno,” he agreed, running backwards for a time to keep Ashleigh in his sight. ”Mi hermana teach us bueno, no?”
Ashleigh shook his head wildly from side to side. ”I dunno what you’re saying, but okay!” His tongue lolled out, dripping saliva in the snow, as he and Zorro grinned at each other.
The walk though the snow was uneventful to Lizzie. There was some slipping, sinking, and cold toes, but that didn't faze her too much.
Lizzie reached the corridor where she and Tuesday had chosen her rooms. There was snow blocking the doors, but Lizzie felt that it would not be too much trouble to dig it out. It was clear that Tuesday was not thinking the same way as she was from the scowl and her tone of voice.
"We both have fire-types, Melting some snow can't be too hard," Lizzie explained. Regardless of Tuesday's reply, she told Charmander to use Flamethrower on the snow in front of her room door. It was a good thing she chose a room in an easy-to-remember spot.
It took a while, but the snow was finally clear. Lizzie thought that her Charmander might be tired, so she recalled it for a rest. It was true that she and Tuesday would have to travel in a darker environment now, but keeping her strongest pokemon well-rested was essential.
Lizzie took a deep breath and opened the door to her room. It looked like the snow did not do much, if any, damage to it. It was easy for her to find all of her belongings and she found herself heading out of the room much sooner than expected. Lizzie leaned on the door she closed behind her, waiting for Tuesday. There WAS safety in numbers, after all.
Tuesday bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything when Lizzie had her charmander begin to melt the snow. She didn't want to tell the girl that she had known that would force the white mass away from the doors, but had been afraid to try it. Of course, she knew that there wasn't enough snow in this area to cause a massive flood, the prospect of being surrounded by water still terrified her. It was an irrational fear, and she stood watching the snow melt for a time, until she was sure that the amount of water wouldn't grow exponentially and drown her.
Shuddering, she turned quickly to face her own iced-over room before Lizzie could see her. Wiping the tears from her eyes that threatened to fall out of shame and terror, she motioned Ashleigh forward. "Use ember, Ashleigh. Let's get the door clear."
The houndoom wasted no time in obeying, fire erupting from his throat and striking the snow and ice. It immediately began to melt, water running down the door and walls. Tuesday took a small step back, shivering. The cold she could handle. The ice and snow was easy to deal with. Water, however, had terrified her ever since that incident when she was young, and the only time she ever felt remotely safe around it was when her brother was near - either Brone or Jaima.
I hate this, she thought darkly to herself. Weak.
She heard Lizzie's door open and the girl walk into her own room, and after some more careful ember attacks, Tuesday was able to reach the doorknob and push open her own door.
She stepped inside to find the room dry and warm, in comparison to the hall they had just been in.
Both of her pokemon were out of the pokeballs, waiting for her. Tempest was sitting on top of the bookcase, watching her closely. Dante was curled up on the bed, his tail wrapped around the egg to keep it warm.
A third pokemon, however, was waiting for her, as well.
Tuesday recognized the bird as a Xatu - a psychic/flying pokemon. It was standing on something hard that had been set down on the bed, and it was staring blanket at her, its wings folded over the front of its body like a cloak. Both of its eyes were glowing slightly, but as Tuesday watched, the glow faded and it finally did look at her.
"Xa," it said, and opened its wings. It then folded its right wing over its body and pointed to the left with the other. Tuesday blinked at it. "Xa tu atu," the bird said, pointed again to the left, and then down.
"You... want us to go that way?" Tuesday asked, pointing in the same direction. The xatu pointed downward. "And then down."
"Xa." The bird folded its wings over its body and nodded its head, its eyes closed.
"Thank you," Tuesday said, thoughtfully.
It opened its right eye and looked at her. "Tu." There was a flicker, and then the xatu teleported away.
Tuesday stepped forward to see what it had been standing on. It was a book.
"Dante's Inferno. How fitting," she mused. On a whim, she picked the book up and slid it into her messenger bag, before grabbing her backpack from the room and slipping it on. She found both Tempest and Dante's pokeballs and then turned to her pokemon.
"All right, I can't have all of you out, I can only have two. And someone needs to carry the egg."
Dante and Zorro looked at each other, the two most capable of carrying the egg. True, Dante's fires would keep the egg warm, but his skin, naturally hotter than even Ashleigh's, would make walking even more dangerous. With a sigh, he handed the egg to Zorro and was recalled.
Tempest took one look at Zorro and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away with a sharp "Chu!"
Tuesday sighed. "You two are ridiculous. Tempest, he didn't even do anything." But she recalled the pikachu without a fight, leaving Zorro carrying the egg and Ashleigh sitting calmly waiting for commands.
"All right, come on." Tuesday stepped out of the room, followed by her two pokemon. She found Lizzie waiting for her.
"I had a mild encounter with one of the psychic pokemon I think are helping us," Tuesday told the girl. She pointed left down the hallway - the way that they had just come. "The xatu said that we should go this way, and then downward, so it looks like we're going back. I'm hoping it told us that because we're going to run into some more people." With that, Ashleigh took the lead to watch for danger, and Zorro walked beside Tuesday, carrying the egg as they made their way back down the corridor.
Lizzie was glad that they were being helped. She was a little confused as to why the psychic pokemon did not Teleport both of them, but said nothing.
Lizzie made her way down the dark corridor in silence. Her cloths were slightly damp from the melting the snow in front of her room,, but that did not bother her too much. She came from Sinnoh, a relatively cool region, which may be why she has a certain degree of tolerance to the cold. Or maybe it was the sweatshirt she rarely took off.
The Riolu on Lizzie's shoulder looked at Tuesday, Zorro and the egg. She worried that they might be feeling a little cold in her trainers place.
"Wow, that's an interesting egg. You are not too cold, are you?"
Zorro glanced back at the riolu and grinned, holding the egg close to his body and keeping it warm with his fur and natural heat. "No, I no cold." He glanced at Tuesday, and then at Ashleigh not walking too far ahead and glancing back every now and then. "Mi hermana have perro demonio to... ah... ah - keep. To keep warm. Sí!" He nodded sharply, grinning.
He turned around until he was walking backwards, so that he could face the riolu as he spoke to her. Still, he kept in step with Tuesday.
"Where you come from?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "I from Carello cuevas. Mi hermana find me. I catch self." He grinned proudly at such an accomplishment.
Zorro remembered quite well how the sparkly boy and the fire-headed girl had fought over who would catch him, and how he had avoided all attempts. His hermana had been reluctant to try, and only now that he knew her and could look back did Zorro understand that she hadn't wanted them to be mad at her, but also, and mostly, because she hadn't agreed in fighting a pokemon into unconsciousness before capturing it. She hadn't done it yet, and Zorro didn't imagine that she ever would. Not his hermana.
"Ah..." Riolu took a moment to decode what Zorro was saying. "I was lost and I passed out, and Lizzie found me. I don't remember how I got lost..." Thinking back, Riolu did not remember much. She must have been really young.
Lizzie was walking slowly because she did not want to overtake Tuesday. The added bonus was the reduced slipping chance, which Lizzie noticed when Tuesday told Ashleigh to slow down. She grinned at the Houndoom's exaggeration, wondering what it would be like to have a pokemon like that.
As the party reached the stairs, the stairs were coated in ice. Ashleigh slid down easily, and howled eerily again.
"Which is more slippery, water or ice?" she replied. She noticed that the ice was partially melted because of Ashleigh's body as he slid down, but it was quick to freeze again. " I think that fire attacks may burn the stairs though..." She mumbled to herself.
"Charmander!" The pokeball bounced off a convenient wall, and Charmander broke free. "Walk down the stairs." Charmander looked surprised. It decided that it was safe to walk after seeing Ashleigh at the bottom of the stairs. The ice melted from its tail flame, but not enough for a slip-free trip.
"I'm not sure that's going to be safe," Tuesday noted.
Trying to use a flamethrower on the icy stairs might only succeed in setting them on fire. As they were now, only half-melted, walking down them could be treacherous, and Tuesday was also worried about dropping the egg. Already she had dropped it once during their run from the steelix and cracked it. She wasn't sure if it could survive another drop.
Zorro tapped on her arm, and when she looked at him, he made a sliding motion with his right paw, holding the egg gently with his left.
"You still think we should slide down, Zorro?" He nodded, glancing at the stairs. "They're melted now, though."
Tuesday felt silly for not thinking of it, as Zorro tapped the pokeball on her belt containing h only water pokemon. To be fair, however, she rarely thought of using water attacks if she could help it, and she was a little stressed out at the moment.
At Zorro's tapping, the pokeball burst open and Odysseus flipped in the air to land behind Zorro, looking around. Grinning, the riolu turned to him. "Captain," he said in greeting, saluting smartly.
The buizel grinned at him. "'ey, lad. Seems the lass is in a right tizzy. Wha's the trick?"
"They think melting ice ayudar, pero stairs icy still."
"So they are, lad. And what are ye suggestin' I do 'bout i'?"
"Freezey-breath," Zorro said with a grin. Odysseus gave him a strange look. "If you make smooth, they slide, sí?"
"All righty, lad, I got ye." Odysseus walking to the landing and stared down. "I c'n smell ye down thar ye great slobberin' furball!" he yelled at Ashleigh. There was a barking laugh that rose up to meet him. "Git out o' the way, unless ye wan'te be a mutt-cicle!"
Odysseus waited about three seconds, before he glanced back at Zorro and winked. "I'll give ye a slide, laddie." With that, he let loose with an Aqua Jet, surrounded himself with water before spinning and shooting down the stairs.
There was a clamber a few moments later, when the buizel landed on the ground and righted himself, but the lot of them were more concerned with what he had done to the stairs.
His Aqua Jet, spinning and shooting water in all directions, had frozen not only the stairs but the walls and ceiling around it. They stared at a cylindrical hole of ice - a giant slide.
Tuesday turned when Zorro tapped on her arm. He grinned at her, and then pointed down the slide.
Tuesday sighed and looked back at Lizzie. "I guess we're sliding after all," she said. She sat down at the top of the slide and stared down. "You know I can't see the bot- AH! Zorro! You pushed me!" she yelled, as she went sliding down the stairs. She'd admit later that the ride was incredibly smooth, the ice perfectly distributed so as to keep the slide from being bumpy or hurting them. The only complaint that Tuesday had was that her butt was now wet.
And that Zorro had pushed her.
Much to her surprise, the bottom leveled out, Odysseus clearly having taken the time to make certain they didn't go flying at the hard ground. She slid to a stop on her back, to find him staring down at her with an amused expression.
"Have you ever thought of going into construction?" she asked him lightly. He chuckled in response.
"Ri olu lu lu lu o!" Zorro cried in delight, as he came sliding down the stairs. The egg was clasped protectively against his chest, as he slid down right into Tuesday's arms. "Can we do that again?" he asked, grinning.
Tuesday looked back up the slide, but she couldn't see the top, the ice bending in a way that prohibited it.
"Come on down, Lizzie," she called. "It's not bad at all."
"Okay," Lizzie said, a little upset that her idea did not work. It was the only thing she could have attempted, however, with the limited movesets and abilities of her party.
Riolu insisted that she slide down first, which she did. She called to Lizzie, as if telling her that she was missing out by not sliding. it wasn't too long after when Lizzie slid down silently. She brushed herself off at the bottom of the slide. The dampness on her but was annoying, but there was one thing t be happy about; they were almost at their goal. Lizzie recalled her Charmander and got up. If she remembered correctly, there was only a straight hallway left to cross.
"Okay, the xatu said to go back the way we came and down, but he didn't specify beyond that," Tuesday noted. "So... this is just a bit of a predicament."
They stood standing at a crossroad of halls, which was rather odd, really. Roads were easily seen as branching off into a Y, but to see two corridors doing it was just a little odd.
In normal circumstances, Tuesday wouldn't have been bothered by choosing a hall at random, but she couldn't see the ends of them because the corridors turned outward at a curve, and since there had been an avalanche, there was no telling where they might end up, or what they might end up in.
"When all else fails, follow your nose." That had always been Brone's suggestion, but Tuesday thought that he was just a little too fond of that scene in Lord of the Rings, never mind that it had been the first movie he'd ever seen, watching it through Cassandra's eyes. A pity he couldn't take the time to read the book, which was, of course, much better.
"Well," Tuesday said, completely forgetting that she had a companion who was not privy to her internal memories or thoughts, "I suppose it's good advice, at any rate." She looked down at the houndoom, sitting at her feet with his tongue lolling out and tail wagging. "Either way smell clearer to you, Ashleigh?"
The large dog looked up at him, sloppily flapped his tongue up to lick his nose, and then started sniffing the air in either direction. With a bark, he leapt to his feet and bolted down the corridor that ran to the right.
"Hey!" Tuesday called after him. "Slow down!"
She raced down the hall after him, not at all keeping up with him. Zorro raced at her side and she could hear Lizzie coming behind her. She could smell something pleasant on the air, not quite a perfume, but more like a fresh breeze. A feeling of dread and worry filled her suddenly, and she glanced over at Zorro in concern - she'd suffered similar feelings before. The riolu had a disturbed look on his face and he was slowing in his steps, even though he looked like he wanted to speed up.
"Zorro, what is it?" she asked, slowing slightly.
"Bad."
The word came into her mind abruptly and left just as quick, an understanding that occurred only in the rarest of occasions. It was a sign, of course, that something wasn't right - the arrival of the ability again, as well as the word. Still, she was confused.
She was about to ask for clarification, when she got it from someone else.
A roar called her attention toward the space of the corridor they had not yet reached, followed by a sharp yelp that grabbed Tuesday's attention even more than the threatening cry. Ashleigh was cowering, his tail dropped between his legs, his body quivering and a bruise forming on his skull. An ursaring stood in front of him, roaring, and clearly not happy.
"Oh, shards."
As Lizzie followed Tuesday, she noticed a nice smell in the air. It smelled a bit like home. Riolu was moving restlessly on Lizzie's shoulders. Was she homesick? Perhaps it would have been better if Riolu stayed behind in Floraoma.
But, then again, I think Riolu would have insisted to come anyway, Lizzie thought to herself. She remembered the time when a cloud of hophip floated by. Riolu was the first one to notice. On the days when the drifloon visit the Valley windworks, Riolu would run there and, sometimes, drag a wounded one home. She would look at Lizzie with pleading eyes. Lizzie would always agree to help, but of all the pokemon she had ever helped, only Riolu stuck with her. It was strange, really. Maybe she had something the adventures little pokemon never had; a place to return to. That did explain why Riolu was nowhere in the middle of winter.
Lizzie was still in a good mood when she saw the Ursaring. Judging by the way Ashleigh was cowering, it was a pretty strong one.
"Shall we run?" Lizzie asked. She felt strangely at home, as if Furoh was just a dream and everyone was actually someone she knew.
"Shall we run?"
Tuesday shook her head sharply. "No. You never turn your back on a wild pokemon - especially an angry one. It's an invitation for attack, and foolish, at best." She grabbed the pokeball at her belt that was bound to Ashleigh and attempted to recall him. The ursaring, however, continued to roar and move in her way, prohibiting her from recalling the houndoom, who had an unpleasant look on his face. The bruise on his skull was already a sickeningly dark purple, visible even against his black fur.
She narrowed her eyes at the ursaring and felt Zorro tense beside her. She glanced at the riolu out of the corner of her eye. "Think you can distract him, Zorro?"
The riolu grinned impishly and gave a mock salute, before bounding forward. He leapt into the air and flipped, landing on the ursaring's shoulders. He jumped to avoid a swinging paw and did a handstand on the great bear's head, before flipping off and landing behind him. The ursaring rumbled angrily as he turned around to face Zorro, who was making a series of mocking faces at the enraged pokemon.
The ursaring roared and charged forward.
Zorro bolted in the other direction, leapt against the wall, and sprang into a backward flip that took him out of harm's way. The ursaring's momentum kept him running forward until he crashed into a door.
The door shattered on impact with the huge brute and the mass of snow which had collected behind him, unknown to them all, shuddered once, and then began to slide, tumble, and rush downward.
"Run!" Tuesday said sharply to Lizzie, and heard the girl's footsteps obey.
The ursaring, seeing the coming snow, turned and came running back, away from the snow.
Tuesday grabbed two pokeballs from her belt simultaneously and stepped forward quickly. "Ashleigh! Zorro!" she called, and recalled them both with a startled yelp and cry.
The snow tumbled toward her, and the ursaring rumbled in her direction. Quit frankly, Tuesday would rather face mother nature than an angry bear, and she leapt out of the way of the pokemon, crashing to the floor.
Something beneath her seemed to sink with a tremble and a soft grinding sound. There was a moment when Tuesday pondered what that could have possibly been, before she let out a cry of surprise and terror, as the entire floor gave way beneath her.
Tuesday yelled as she fell through the trap door, ignoring the startled roar from above her, as she continued to fall. She saw a light beneath her and for a moment, she had the horrifying fear that she was going to crash into an underground lake.
She caught sight of a familiar blonde braid, just before something hit her sharply in the head, and she landed on top of a familiar form, eliciting a cry from the tall boy.
Blinking, she sat on top of her adoptive brother, staring down at his startled face. And then she made the mistake of opening her mouth.
"Jaima! You make a wonderful cushion, do you know that?"
"Oh, thank god it didn't work," a familiar voice said, and Tuesday looked over to see that... that BOY standing there, picking a pokeball up off of the ground. "I didn't want one of you, anyway."
"You hit me a pokeball?!" Tuesday screeched. "You... you're a... I don't even know what you are!"
"He's a butthead!"
"Yeah! You're a butthead!" Tuesday agreed, deciding to figure out what pokemon she was hearing telepathically later.
"Would you people stop calling me a butthead?! My name is- shit."
"No, that's what you are!" Tuesday snapped back, but a look of startlement on Jaima's face and a strange shadow looming over her caused her to look behind her curiously.
The ursaring had apparently fallen into the trap door behind her, and he wasn't particularly happy about it.
"You know," Tuesday said in a strangely off-hand manner, "this... really kind of puts a damper on things."
The homely feeling was gone and there was only one thing to do while the Ursaring was distracted. Lizzie quickly recalled Riolu then started running at Tuesday's command. She paid no attention to where she was going, she just ran as fast as she could for as long as she could. After taking a few turns, Lizzie found a dead end. There was a door there, but Lizzie's trembling hand could not open it in time. She turned around, expecting to see the Ursaring closing in on her and Tuesday trying to fend it off. Instead, she saw nothing. She was alone.
Lizzie's first reaction was relief. There was no big, dangerous, angry pokemon nearby. Her second reaction was panic, she was not with the more experienced Tuesday and had absolutely no idea what to do.
It seemed that Riolu had sensed the absence of motion, and popped out of her pokeball. That was a relief, Lizzie thought, at least I am not completely alone anymore. It took a quick look around for Riolu to realize that they were in a safe spot.
"Alright, so what do we do now?" Riolu pointed to the door behind Lizzie, the one she was too afraid to open. "Of course! Going back the way we came is too dangerous," Lizzie replied. That thing might still be there. As for Tuesday, I think she can fend for herself. If she needs to, she can send all of her pokemon out to battleat the same time. Lizzie took a few more seconds to gather her thoughts before opening the door.
This is definitely a banquet hall, Lizzie thought as she looked around the spacious room. There was no other explanation for the large number of tables and chairs.
"This is good, Riolu, since this is a banquet hall the kitchens must be close by. There should be food there." Lizzie looked around the room. There were many doors, so finding her way to the kitchen was not going to be easy. One door, however, caught her eye. It looked like an emergency exit.
An exit, huh? It should be connected to the kitchens. They can be big fire hazards. That makes a lot of sense... "Alright Riolu, I think we should go through the emergency door. What about you?" Riolu shrugged. It did not know too much about mansions, emergency exits, and the like. Then again, neither did Lizzie, she was mostly guessing her way around the mansion.
The emergency door led to a platform. There were stairs heading both up and down.
"We can go up or down." Riolu looked up, then looked down. It shrugged again. "I guess this is the kind of responsibility a trainer needs." Lizzie sighed, then picked Riolu up, The kitchens could be downstairs, less stairs to travel across to reach safety. But what if they were upstairs? Lizzie paced around the platform a bit. Riolu, noticing her trainer's lack of confidence, tapped Lizzie on the head, then extended a paw pointing down. She had keener ears than Lizzie, allowing her to hear some voices below them. Riolu thought that company would be good for Lizzie.
"Okay, if that's what you want." Lizzie headed down the stairs. The air was moist. It felt like there was some water in the room, and Lizzie, feeling that she might regret her actions, did not get out of the exit like she originally planned. She needed water more than food, and maybe there was some sort of container she could boil it in. She started to imagine how a pipe could be used to boil water. Lizzie's steps became careless as her mind began to wander. They echoed a bit as Lizzie put more weight in her steps than she usually would.
"The odds," Jaima said, seemingly calm in taking off his glasses, cleaning them, and slipping them back on, "are against us."
Jaima's fingers twitched toward his bandoleer as he weighed his options. Mercury was out, but monitoring. She was more than likely up to the task, but he would rather concentrate on that if he could help it. Ember would cause the nearby snow to melt, which may or may not be disastrous, especially in the close proximity of Reilly's monferno. Grondir was susceptible to the cold, but Tsunami would handle it well. With the water on the ground, Fang couldn't direct his attacks without potentially hurting someone else. Shadow had been left behind in the main hall. A mistake in retrospect.
"Tsunami, mud shot if you would. You're going to be our support." The marshtomp nodded and stepped forward, opening her wide mouth wider still and sending a ball of mud directly to the ursaring's face.
"Keep your eyes on your kids, guys. This thing is huge and hairy, and if it hits them, it's going to hurt." As Jaima opened his mouth to suggest that possibly they could try to drive it back, Tuesday's riolu, Zorro, dashed toward it, flipping up into the air just beyond the reach of the ursaring, landing on his shoulder, and slapping it in the face with a grin. As the ursaring responded with a roar and a raised fist, Zorro leapt into the air, back toward his trainer, leaving the ursaring to slam his own paw into his own shoulder with enough force to make him stagger.
"Oh, man," Jaima muttered, then called for Tsunami to use mud slap on the grizzly beast, trying to keep it from being able to hit the rest. Just as she did, and just as it hit, another form dropped behind the ursaring from the same trap door that he and Tuesday and fallen through. Jaima tensed, but a wave of affection and happy surprise struck him suddenly, and the ursaring pitched forward. He stumbled revealing his attacker. A tall, muscular, and angry looking lucario.
Shadow!
Tag battles were made to show signs of teamwork between trainers and Pokemon, both sides having to communicate with each other as their two chosen competitors battled in unison, avoiding to mess each other up. Normally, those battles were considered two on two. This case, when the Lucario came forth,, looked a lot more like it would be five on one! The odds may look to be in favor of the large team, but the things to keep in mind were that the four trainers never battled together, the trouble of five Pokemon being in complete sync with each other, and the single opponent had a good chance of being twice the power of each of them.
Douken figured out of the entire group, he was the least experienced in combat, especially against such an opponent. Watching the Marshtomp using defensive maneuvers to blind the foe, he thought carefully on what his next move would be. I can try to assist in blinding him until he can't see, or maybe I can cause him pain through time... Almost like a cartoon image of all the Pokemon with health bars above their heads, he imagined his Croagunk using Poison Needle on the Ursurang, successfully poisoning it, and with him pounding and missing the others, his health steadily dropping til he got exhausted and the Poison causing the Ursurang to fall over with X's over his eyes. Once I get him poisoned, I will help make him blind more! was his last thought before he called out, "Now Croagunk, use Poison Sting!" The Poison Frog Pokemon's cheeks then puffed up before he opened his mouth to unleash a barrage of bright purple needles at the enraged bear.
Zorro grinned and laughed as the ursaring punched itself in the shoulder. His costume change was quick and efficient, as always, and left the bystanders wondering where he managed to pick up these items and when he changed. Soon his pirate hat had been traded in for a pair of boxing gloves, and he danced from foot to foot, jabbing the air in front of him mockingly, for the benefit of the enraged ursaring.
Tuesday's eyes flashed to the trap door at the ceiling behind the ursaring, and she watched the lucario fall through, landing gracefully behind their opponent. She grinned, but refrained from yelling out the lucario's name and giving his position away, before he had attacked the ursaring from behind and sent the great bear staggering.
Zorro leapt up in the air excitedly, his boxing gloves discarded. "Yay! Hermano mayor!" he yelled. He let out a yelp when the ursaring swung a great fist at his distracted form and sent him crashing harshly into the wall. He tumbled down into a pile of snow and lay there, groaning.
"Zorro!" Tuesday made a dash for the riolu, but the ursaring swung a fist at her back. It was by pure luck or some miracle of intuition that she dropped to her knees, ducking just below the attack. Her long blonde curls whipped over her head as the ursaring's attack barely missed.
Tuesday dared a look up at the tail creature as she heard him roaring angrily. A moment later, she felt a sharp pressure on her throat, as someone grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her backward. She choked, and then scampered to a standing position, as Reilly, of all people, yanked her away from the ursaring and tossed her unceremoniously behind him. Tuesday stumbled, barely catching herself, before a rush of heat against her left arm caused her to look. Indiana, Reilly's monferno, dashed past her with a screeching cry. He leapt into the air and somersaulted, his flaming tail coming down sharply on top of the ursaring's head, before his fist, glowing red and golden, smashed down against the great bear's skull in a Mach Punch.
The ursaring swung a fist and caught the monkey pokemon, but Indiana scampered lithely across the ursaring's hand, wrapped a tail around his wrist, and swung, flipping in the air and landing safely out of reach. He threw his hands up in the air and danced in a circle, cheering loudly.
Douken's croagunk's attack had struck both the ursaring and Shadow, but Shadow shrugged it off as the ursaring bellowed, stomping toward the croagunk. Tsunami drove it back with a Mud Shot attack, driving it back and slowing it down some. Shadow circled around to get to the ursaring's front side, to better protect the trainers.
Jaima and Shadow both had the same instinct when Tuesday was attacked, but Mercury managed to hold Jaima back telekinetically. While the monkey pokemon slammed a mach punch into the side of the ursaring's head and then flipped away, Shadow dashed forward and slammed a Force Palm into the ursaring's side. The wild pokemon bellowed, reaching for Shadow, who was not fast enough to dodge. It gripped his head, yanking him high off the ground, and slammed the lucario into the ground, cracking the stone flooring. Shadow rolled away, breathing heavily from the Seismic Toss attack.
Shadow! Mercury cried mentally, broadcasting to anyone in the vicinity in her panic. Her eyes glowed angrily, and the ursaring stumbled back.
"Guys," Jaima said as the large pokemon pushed off the wall he'd been shoved into, "you might want to call out more pokemon." He swallowed thickly as Tsunami managed to hit the grizzly pokemon in the eyes again with Mud Slap.
Shadow knelt next to Zorro. <<Little Brother, I have a plan...>> With that, he whispered to the riolu, who's eyes widened as he grinned. Stripping off the gloves was the only indication of the riolu changing, but when he was done, somehow, he had a gold wrestler's champion belt as well as the boxing shorts on.
Shadow charged the bear, sending a foot crashing into it's chest. Before he could dodge away, the ursaring grabbed for him again, but Shadow caught the bear's paw. <<Me First,>> he growled out, lifting the ursaring and leaping into the air, spinning around before throwing him violently back down. The bear staggered to it's feet, only to be grabbed bodily by the riolu, who also leapt in an incredible feat of strength, copying the attack the ursaring had managed to last use on Shadow and driving him to the ground again. While it was not as affective as the ursaring's single attack, both Seismic Tosses shook the bear visibly. He got to his feet and roared in defiance.
even though it was a tough battle, Douken was surprised at the speed on how the little Riolu changed his clothes so quickly. Even if this was not the time to ask, he did anyways, "So how does that Riolu change outfits so quickly?" However, the thought changed when it was suggested they needed more to take him down. He already got blinded a bit, so the Marshtomp has that base covered, but his speed is still amazing. Taking a Pokeball off his belt, he enlarged it, adding, Guess i should take care of that... "Seel, I need your assistance!" He yelled, tossing the Pokeball up into the air as the giant bear went through his own attack twice thanks to the double Me First. "Seel, Icy Wind on his upper body. Croagunk, Bullet Punch Combo on his lower, go!"
Trusting them on their instincts to get out of the way, Croagunk charged in at the staggering Ursurang with his fists glowing brightly as he swiftly struck at the bear's leg non-stop, just as the Seel opened her mouth to send a wave of cold air at his upper body to slowly freeze his arms and torso to drop his speed.
"So how does that Riolu change outfits so quickly?"
"His name is Zorro," Tuesday corrected, glancing at the boy. "And we stopped wondering some time ago. It's futile, and he refuses to tell." She thought nothing of how things had changed. Before, she would have whispered to Jaima in a voice too low for anyone else to hear. Now, however, she spoke openly to a stranger she had yet to be introduced to. It was strange and very unlike the person she had been, and Jaima would have noticed, but she did not.
Instead, Tuesday turned back to the battle. She watched as Zorro used copycat, a move that she wasn't aware that he knew, to use a lesser-powered Seismic Toss on the ursaring. The bear pokemon still rose again, however, and Jaima was right. They were going to need help.
Tuesday ran what she knew of Ursaring through her head. All of the books that she had read about pokemon and the articles she had scanned in Professor Oak's laboratory came back to her immediately.
Ursaring were great bear pokemon, of course. Males, as this one was, had a smaller collar of fur around their necks. They were fierce fighters and normal type pokemon, which made them immune to ghost type attacks. Not that that mattered here. They were especially weak only to fighting type moves.
Zorro was the only of Tuesday's companions who was of a fighting type. She could call out Dante and rely on his steadfast fire, but the charmeleon wasn't as fast as he would need to be to avoid the ursaring's attacks. Odysseus was fast and agile, holding a similar style to Zorro, but his water attacks would be dangerous with Indiana already on the field. Tuesday didn't want to risk the monferno getting hurt.
Ashleigh... Tuesday was still trying to decide if Ashleigh just pretended to be a clumsy, floppy pup, or if he was still as prone to stumbling and tripping over his own tail as a newborn pup. In any case, the houndoom had already been in a harsh fight earlier that day, and though Zorro had been, as well, Ashleigh had taken more damage.
That left one pokemon.
The pokeball on Tuesday's belt burst open before she could call out the pikachu, and Tempest appeared in a flash of red light, racing forward swiftly. She dodged from side to side, using her agility to keep the ursaring looking, his eyes flashing back and forth.
"Tempest," Tuesday called, watching as the pikachu's ears flicked back toward her, "double team and slam!"
"Chu!" the pikachu replied. Her form flickered, and suddenly there were four pikachu racing toward the ursaring, each bearing an equally angry look. They all four leapt at the same time. With a snarl, the ursaring swatted sharply at the one aiming for his face. His paw went right through it and three of the pikachu vanished, as the fourth slammed into the ursaring's stomach, causing the bear pokemon to let out a grunt and double over himself. Dashing from side to side, the pikachu dodged an attack and skidded out of reach of the ursaring.
The bear roared angrily at the agile pikachu and lunged forward.
"I no t'ink so, Gigantor!" Zorro leapt into the air above Tempest and spun, drawing his paws above his head as the air seemed to gather around him with a pinkish hue. With a growl, Zorro threw his arms over his head, effectively guiding the force of wind toward the ursaring. It flew from his paws in the shape of a heart and slammed into the ursaring, shoving the great bear backward with a startled cry.
Zorro landed on his rear paws in front of Tempest, scowling without a hint of humor at their opponent. "No one touch the ratta. No one."
Deep down, Mercury knew that a battle was not the place for what was crossing her mind. Deep down, she knew she should be concentrating on important things, like not letting the ursaring squash her Trainer and friends. Deep down, she knew that it was entirely inappropriate for her to have the thoughts she was having.
But Zorro protecting Tempest like that was just so adorable!
Did you see that, Shadow?! Despite her enthusiasm, she had enough presence of mind to keep her mental projection limited to the lucario, and not let her trainer, who would scold her, or any of the other pokemon, hear.
Of course I did, Mercury. It was a very affective use of an attack, and noble besides. Mercury seemed, a bit, disappointed, until Shadows mental voice came through again, all hot chocolate and cedar wood. He's felt that way about her since we left DeBrody's... his first crush... Ah, my Little Brother is growing up...
Mercury giggled. The mental conversation had taken seconds, and another attack was launched, this time at Zorro. Mercury huffed. If I didn't think she'd scratch the blue off of my dome, she added with a giggle before sending a wave of confusion toward the ursine, I would tease Tempest about it.
* * * * *
Jaima chewed his lip. In the background of his mind, he cataloged significant things; Tuesday standing up to a stranger regarding the name of her pokemon, Reilly's moving to drag Tuesday from harm, Douken's use of his pokemon to slow the ursaring down. The four fighting types on the field were nimble and quick, but Jaima felt wrong. Something was bothering him, and he couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't a way to resolve this without the battle.
I wish there was, too, Trainer Jaima, Mercury sighed in his mind, But he is enraged and, for some reason, believes that we are the enemy. Until he is unconscious, we can't even get him to see reason.
Jaima sighed. "Tsunami," he called, "Knock him back. We need distance!"
Tsunami reared her head back and then flung it forward, sending a large ball of mud that hit the ursaring in the chest, causing it to stagger back. With the same motion, she used the same attack again, sending the ursaring stumbling now that it was off balance. Finally she charged forward, slamming into the ursine with her shoulder, staggering backwards even as the bear fell.
Jaima blinked. "Good... Good job, Tsunami!" He said, a large, figurative drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head.
He watched the towering Pokemon with a loud thud onto the floor thanks to the excessive force from the Marshtomp's Ground attack which followed a powerful slam, and from he believed from his own Croagunk wearing down the foe's leg or affect his balance. "All right! Nice work everyone!" He knew it wasn't over, but it was a big window of opportunity. One Croagunk took advantage of.
Hopping onto the ursine's body , the Poison Frog Pokemon rushed in the bear's body and struck the bear's head as hard as he could. Seeing this, Douken blinked, muttering, "Was that Faint Attack?" From what he understood, it was a move that allowed him to get close to a blind or vulnerable spot while the enemy's guard was down to strike hard.
Turning to Jaima, he said, "If the Ursurang is still uncooperative, I have a plan to slow him down. If your Tsunami can wet him down, then my Seel's Icy Wind would freeze it faster. Then maybe a Psychic like Mercury can get into the bear's mind and calm him down."
Stupid was the thought that crossed Tuesday's mind as the croagunk dashed forward while the ursaring was down. There was no hesitation in the toad's movements, no caution. He took advantage of what looked like an advantageous position and moved without taking the time to think about it. It was a rookie mistake, and one that cost a lot of people who acted first and chose to think after their pokemon had been pounded into the ground.
"If the Ursurang is still uncooperative, I have a plan to slow him down. If your Tsunami can wet him down, then my Seel's Icy Wind would freeze it faster. Then maybe a Psychic like Mercury can get into the bear's mind and calm him down."
Tuesday was disappointed in the croagunk, but more disappointed in his trainer. Planning out an attack formation or even discussing with your allies about an attack was important, of course, but so was making certain that your pokemon was out of danger.
The croagunk was, decidedly, not.
"Fool of a Took," Tuesday swore, as the ursaring, who had not been as injured as he made himself appear, moved more swiftly than one would expect from a creature of his size. His body moved upward as he reared back, his right paw coming out and slamming into the croagunk, shoving the smaller pokemon backward and off balance, as he opened his mouth wide, a golden-white ball of energy forming between his lips, before abruptly exploding forward in an concussive stream, slamming into the croagunk and throwing the toad into the opposite wall.
Tuesday moved swiftly, her instincts telling her that staying in one place for long was not safe with this creature. Her feet carried her to the left, closer to the boy whose name she didn't know, as her eyes narrowed at the ursaring.
"Iorek knows hyper beam, it appears," she noted, perhaps uselessly. She couldn't tell if the boy would know what the attack was. She assumed that Jaima had been able to name it immediately. She figured no one would pick up on her reference, but it hardly mattered. The ursaring was smart, that was a given. They simply had to be careful that they weren't stupid.
"Get your croagunk out of danger," Tuesday said sharply to the boy, not speaking loudly enough to call attention to herself, never taking her eyes off of the bear. She thought about his earlier comment with some annoyance. "And if you have a plan that involves Mercury, perhaps you would be kind enough to tell it to her."
She knew that the plan involved Tsunami, as well, but physically - or elementally - attacking a pokemon was vastly different from doing so psychically. Entering anyone's mind was a taxing effort, and also a personal one. Immersing oneself into the personality, emotions, and mentality of another creature was dangerous and could be excruciating. To ask it of a pokemon one hardly knew so flippantly was insulting to Mercury, and Tuesday found herself disgusted on the kirlia's behalf.
The ursaring moved swiftly to his feet, a perpetual growl emanating from his throat, his lips vibrating with the force of it. His eyes were wild with battle lust and as Tuesday studied his movements and body language, she found that "uncooperative" was the last word she would use to describe him.
She didn't know if Jaima intended to implement the boy's plan or not, but she saw both Zorro and Tempest moving opposite each other, on either side of the ursaring. The bear pokemon was holding an aggressive position, snarling, seemingly waiting for something - them to make the first move, no doubt. His eyes flickered to Tempest now and then, and clearly he could see her. Zorro may have been standing just beyond the ursaring's peripheral vision, and Tuesday hoped so.
Tempest's ears were tilted backward, toward her, and it was clear that she was waiting for a command or an opening. Zorro was always attuned to her, and she saw him glance her way briefly now and then. She smiled slightly. She had a good pair on the field.
Now if only they would get along off of it.
"Blind Side!" Tuesday called.
Immediately, the two pokemon moved. Tempest quick attacked from side to side, drawing the ursaring's attention solely onto her, as she used her agility to avoid any impending attacks. On the other side of the ursaring, now almost at his back, Zorro dashed away from the bear, leapt up against the wall and sprang off. Tuesday saw him clench his eyes shut and did so herself, turning her head away slightly. She gave no warning to the others, not wanting to tip the bear off.
Behind her eyelids, she could see a great flash of light, as Tempest unleashed a thunder bolt. It didn't strike him - it wasn't meant to. Blind Side, a maneuver that Tuesday had come up with and one of the only ones that involved Tempest and Zorro working together (though technically any duo of her pokemon could perform it), worked with one pokemon acting as a distraction and a blinder, while the other attacked.
In this case, Tempest unleashed a thunderbolt that arched across the ursaring's vision, successfully turning the world white momentarily. In the same instance, Zorro, who had shut his eyes in preparation to protect himself, slammed into the ursaring from behind, his paw coming forward and punching the ursaring in the back.
There was a brilliant blue-white light, as Zorro pressed his paw against the ursaring's back, even as his body continued in a momentum that would soon drag him over the ursaring. The Force Palm attack slammed into the ursaring with enough force to cause the bear pokemon to roar in pain and spin with the attack.
Unfortunately, he spun with his right arm out, and successfully cuffed Zorro in the chest, sending the riolu flying into the wall behind him and sagging to the ground, wheezing for the air that had been knocked out of him.
The bear turned back to the other pokemon, Tempest having leapt back a safe distance, and roared loudly in what was clearly a challenge to try and take him down.
Tuesday hoped it disappointed him that no one was running scared.
Jaima swore under his breath when the ursaring rose again, sending Douken's croagunk into the wall. He had been in the middle of explaining that Mercury had already told him there was no reasoning with the huge beast. Now Douken's croagunk was stunned, possibly even down.
Jaima directed Tsunami to hit it again with a mudshot, and as he did, Tuesday burst into action.
Everyone, close your eyes! Mercury mentally commanded, to each trainer and pokemon's mind, blocking only the ursaring. Jaima didn't question, but reacted, shutting his eyes tight. Tsunami, Mercury, and Shadow did the same, though Shadow had not needed the warning. Tempest's aura told him more or less what her plans were.
A bright flash, muted through eyelids, crossed his eyes, and then he opened them, watching as Zorro struck the creature in the back, only to be sent into the wall.
Jaima huffed. It was time to end this.
"Mercury, I need him confused! Tsunami, Water Gun at his feet! I need a puddle as big as you can make it! Shadow, get ready!"
He turned to the humans. "Reilly, we're going to need the fastest punch Indiana has! Tuesday, is Zorro going to be able to do that heart thing he did to save Tempest? See if he can join us up here! Douken!" He looked at the newest trainer. "Have your seel freeze the water around the ursaring's feet! Tsunami's going to keep spreading water around until it's thick enough to hold his weight, so have her start now and keep it up as long as she can!"
Jaima turned and nodded to Mercury, who's eyes glowed. The ursine shook his massive hair, then growled, annoyed. Again, he shook his head, growling low, now, swiping a paw in front of his face to brush away some imaginary bug. Finally, it roared, stumbling in a circle, swiping wildly, luckily, well enough away from everyone to keep them out of danger.
As this was going on, Tsunami had been spraying a near steady stream of water, and Douken's seel used her Icy Wind to freeze the water in layers. Soon there was a pallet thick enough not to crack under the ursaring's weight, and the confused ursine started to slip.
"NOW!"
On the command, Indiana, Tempest, and Shadow launched forward. From around them, Zorro's vacuum wave, Mercury's Psychic, and Tsunami's Mud Shot caught up, then passed the trio, slamming into the chest and head of the ursaring. As it roared, Indiana slammed into it's chest with it's mach punch, then kicked off of it's chest in time for Shadow to slam into the stumbling bear's shoulders with a pair of bone shaped fighting sticks, and Tempest to strike it in the chest with her Volt Tackle. Zorro caught her as she flew back with the recoil and set her on the ground, and they scampered away even as the bear slipped on the ice, fell, and slid into the wall with a crunch.
The teams fell silent as Shadow peered at it from the three point stance he had landed in. He is unconscious. His aura cannot lie.
A great sigh of relief passed through the trainers, then, as Shadow rose and stood to walk back, he slipped on the ice, struggling to maintain balance before his feet flew from under him and he crashed into the ice on his back.
Bloody hell! was all anyone "heard", and the group rippled in laughter.
Jaima rubbed his face, adrenaline ebbing away. "OK, so now w--"
A roar, unlike anything Jaima had heard before, coursed down the hall. The shadow of a gigantic form darkened the wall at the end of the hall, its shape unmistakable as a tyranitar.
"Whoa!" Jaima pulled back the sleeve of his right arm, which was blank. "Look at my wrist! We have to go!"
Without another thought, without even worrying about dignity, the trainers recalled all but one of their pokemon and scrambled the opposite way down the hall. Reilly tore a door open and ducked in, and the other four followed.
Which is, because of their flight and the fear in their minds, they all crashed together a started the rapid descent down a long, slippery slide that would take them, eventually, to the basement.
* * * * *
The tiny Mime Jr. peeked around the corner. The big bear was out like a light! He knew that trick would make it run! His shadow puppets NEVER failed, and he could mimic any call of any pokemon, no matter how big!
But... where were the people he was trying to save?
Douken's Croagunk was knocked out cold, which would of been a miracle if he did survive! A Hyper Beam at point-blank range with their level difference was more of an overkill than anything. In addition, watching his Poison Frog Pokemon fly in the air like that broke his confidence like a twig as well. It was almost like slow motion in his eyes while Croagunk was in midair, his mind racing with thoughts, crashing into him all at once. His best fighter was downed with ease, his worry grew for Seel, and he doubt his Growlithe would be effective at all. All the fear of being overpowered that he was hiding flooded him. When he hit the floor, Douken was way too shocked to move, and Seel looked at him worried, feeling his frightened emotion.
Mercury's call snapped him back to reality, recalling his fallen ally as the bright flashes came, turned around so he didn't have to cover then that much, more like throw his arm at the side of his face to block it. As Jaima was explaining the actions, Douken was breathing hard, trying to focus himself back and get whatever confidence he had left. "Alright then, Seel, give us another Icy Wind," he said, trying to hold back the rest of his fear, but his voice was definitely shaky. Luckily, the ice layer held up, causing the ursine to lose balance and drop his guard against the triple move combo.
When Lucario stated it was out, Douken fell to his knees, not because his legs felt numb from the water, but because he felt weak, useless, and most importantly, ashamed. He placed his trust into his team, yet that was what got Croagunk a plane ticket to the other side of the room. Even as the group laughed in humor, Douken was still quiet, his face drooping. Concerned, Seel hopped over to try and cheer him up.
It was then that the huge cry came, locking Douken up as his looked up at the large shaodw. His eyes were now shaking. He had no courage at all to fight this figure. Douken was too shocked to even move, that is until Seel hopped up to slap him in the face to help snap him out of it. Lifting the Seel as best as he could (since she is slow in the running factor) and followed the others to escape the threat, just to find themselves all slipping downhill, his Seel flying in front.
It seemed they found themselves heading downward, Douken trying to brace himself and get balanced as his water buddy was having the time of her life! Sliding on her belly, she felt like she was in an area where she would live naturally, sliding with ease. She even slowed down enough to help Douken get his balance as he hung on. If it is sliding to the unknown or facing that Pokemon, I would prefer the slide...
The Regurgitator was a rollercoaster famous for its ability to make the majority of its passengers lose whatever they had recently eaten from the farthest heights of the ride. For this reason, the area beneath the rollercoaster and some distance around it was taped off, as people tended to sue the amusement park when they amble innocently along and are suddenly covered in vomit.
Tuesday was eleven when Brone, having had a fairly good - nearly certain - idea that Tuesday would soon be leaving on her adventure, convinced Uncle DeBrody to come to Pallet Town and take them to an amusement park some towns away. DeBrody, never one to pass up speed or heights, especially in combination, appeared in two days and dragged a reluctant Tuesday away from Professor Oak's lab.
The amusement park was fun. Ice cream, cotton candy, foot-long spiral lolliepops and, indeed, anything with a meager amount of sugar in it, DeBrody bought for both Tuesday and Brone, and set them loose on the populace. They snacked on candy the entire day, played games, pet tame tyranitar and Tuesday even got to hold a seviper (though the serpent's size nearly had her collapsing beneath its weight and Brone had to use a mild bit of telekinesis to keep her from falling over).
It was once they started riding the rides, however, that they learned two very important things.
The first was that Brone, despite his great amount of skill and power, fell into the category of Regurgitator patrons who sent their breakfast, lunch, and dinner splattering down beneath the coaster before they even reached the heaviest drop.
The second was that Tuesday loved rollercoasters.
It was for this reason that, as they lost their balance on the unexpected slope, Tuesday had a moment of disorientation just like the rest. Then, grasping onto the fact that this was not all that different from the rollercoaster ride (if a little less prone to cause stomach problems), she immediately took to the slide with excitement, Zorro following her example without delay.
Rolling over onto her stomach and manuevering until she was sliding headfirst, Tuesday straightened her legs out behind her and stretched her arms out in front of her, letting out a cry of delight. "Super Tuesday!" she yelled happily.
Beside her, Zorro lay on his back, feet sliding down first, his limbs straight. From somewhere in his bag, somehow during their sliding, he had pulled out a helmet and replaced his pirate hat. Now, he was sliding as though in a luge race, a perpetual grin stretching across his face. Tuesday giggled at him as he started pulling at the ice with his paws in a futile attempt to pass her. She stuck out her tongue.
Curiosity having only killed the cat, two of the pokeballs on Tuesday's belt burst open.
Tuesday let out a soft "oof!" as Tempest landed on her back. Ashleigh, luckily for her, jumped over Tuesday's body and landed on the ice on the other side of her, only for his paws to slip and for him to collapse onto his stomach with a startled expression.
Tuesday laughed. "Ashleigh," she called, sliding over and grabbing the houndoom's horns. The great dark dog let his tongue loll out as she climbed onto his back, Tempest leaping onto the ice and spinning in a disorienting circle as she lost her balance and continued to slide downward.
Tuesday let out a laugh as she sat up, each of her hands wrapped around one of Ashleigh's horns, as though she were racing a houndoom-shaped motorcycle down an icy hill.
Zorro, now sitting up as he continued to slide, stared at Tuesday and Ashleigh with wide eyes. Looking over at the dizzy Tempest, he leapt to his feet, sliding downward on steady paws as he opened his arms wide. "Come, Ratta!" he cried delightfully. "I hold you y we carrera into the brazos del amor!"
He let out a startled yelp as he was knocked off of his feet by a flying object, accentuated with a sharp "Pika!"
"Tempest!" Tuesday cried in distress. "That was my shoe!"
Shadow felt the slide take him just as he noticed it was there. At first, he was afraid it was a trap, but from the evident enjoyment of Little Mercury, the Little Brother, and Kohai Tuesday, he began to relax. Others were sliding down, pokemon of every shape and size, trainers, some riding, some on their own. He saw a smeargle pass, skating on his flat feet, as if he were skiing.
Shadow allowed himself a rare moment of playfulness. With some effort, he put his feet under him, then rose.
Just as Sensei Jaima passed, he felt his feet fly out from under him, and he landed on his back.
He hated the ice!
* * * * *
At the very first, Jaima had a sensation of falling. The sensation reminded him of every bad feeling he'd ever gotten: The feeling he'd gotten when Mariko had wandered away when she was five, and they couldn't find her. The feeling he'd gotten when he'd walked in on his mother crying on what would be her and his father's anniversary three years ago. The feeling he'd gotten when he'd lost an important pokeball on his way back to the lab (even worse, that he'd actually used it. The feeling he'd gotten when Ember'd been stolen.
He'd never really ridden rides. At first, it was because someone needed to watch the girls when they were at festival, or the odd amusement park (his mother, being a breeder, got to visit them on business, and one of the perks were usually a free pass to the park for the family), and then, later, because the girls would have him holding balloons and animals and the like when they, themselves, went. He'd heard about them, however, from friends, those that had stayed behind as he had for various reasons. They always described that sinking, heart-in-your-throat feeling that seemed common.
Why anyone would want to recreate that feeling, Jaima couldn't tell.
He realized, after a while of blind panic, that he wasn't actually falling, but sliding, rapidly and with little friction to slow him. For some reason, in that mad part of his brain that detached from intense fear, he heard a chorus of men singing in a kind of jazz rhythm, "dooby dooby doo bow, dooby dooby doo bow..." If he hadn't been so terrified, he'd have laughed.
Instead, he squished his eyes shut and concentrated on ways to stop if things were going to get bad. The speed must have been incredible. He knew Ice had to be a factor in this slide, yet he didn't feel overly cold, possibly due to the friction. He held his body rigidly, trying to keep his breathing under control. Somehow, he managed to hear Mercury's delighted, lilting laugh. He heard the sound of an impact as he passed it, but didn't feel himself strike a body, and so thought that someone had tried to stand, and failed. Tuesday's screams of joy, the shushing, sliding sounds of so many bodies on the slope, all of them droned deeper as they passed him.
There were a few bumps on the slide, and he thought he caught air at least once. Another time, as he was passing Tuesday, he felt a shoe bouncing off of his head. Who throws a shoe? Honestly!
All through it, he kept his eyes closed, until he came to one realization; The sounds he had heard were not fading in front of him.
They were fading behind him.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the slide ramp up at a great angle, the momentum enough to send him over it, into the air, flailing as nothing rose up to catch him again, and then..
*PHWUMP*
A cushioned, soft landing, one that caused him no pain, caught him. He stood up, wide eyed, hair mussed, and slowly raised his hands above his head.
"I'm alive! I'm aliiiiiiiii-MPH!!"
A large blue and black shape had slammed into him, on the heals of a lighter blue, orange, and white blur, sending him and the black and blue form tumbling. It was dark, and something heavy was on his head.
"ow..."
It seemed that Jaima and the girl were certainly having fun sliding downwards. Surely, Douke would of been taking the time to have fun as well, especially if it would get his mind off the events from five minutes ago, but those images still flashed through his head. Watching his Croagunk take a point blank Hyper Beam was an image he just couldn't get out of his head. It made him question his ways of training. Is relying on their nature such a wise move? Look what happened to Croagunk...
His mind set was broken when a hill flung the Seel Pokemon and his trainer into the air, seperating the two a few inches. Still, they were both placed away from each other enough to have to rely on landing themselves. Seel's landing was just fine, a smooth landing on her belly. As for Douken, he nearly collided with Reilly, missing his head by an inch and landed in a roll in front of him. Luckily, he was able to stop before the comical human snowball formed to take everyone with him and set as steady as he could before Seel slid back to let him balance again.
As they descended more, Seel gazed at her trainer with sad eyes, feeling his worry. Carefully petting her horn, he said, "Sorry girl. I am just too concerned of what happened to your big brother. I just don't want that to happen again." That only resulted in a soft Headbutt to the trainer. "I know, I know. You two can take care of yourselves. I raised you two so I wouldn't have to worry all the time, but I just can't help but worry."
I bet my parents have been worrying ever since I left on that boat... he thought. They raised him to be able to take care of the others. They let him take care of Croagunk and Seel when he hatched them on accident. They taught him a lot of what they knew to ready himself, and he used that to help train his Pokemon. He needed to get his confidence back, since his parents had confidence he could do this journey, and his Pokemon trusted him on his way of training and judgment. Looking at Seel, he smiled and said, "How about we take a breather after this after getting back?" Glad to hear him happy, his Seel clapped as they took another jump, with nearly opposite results, Douken landing on his feet with a bit of a struggle as Seel nearly tumbled because she was too distracted clapping.
"Stupid mutt," Tempest growled to herself, as she slid down the slide on her now-wet bottom, her ears pinned back as the wind brushed them and her tail twitching behind her, held against the ice to help her steer her body. She was grinding her teeth, trying to force herself to forget that moment during the battle, when the stupid... when Zorro protected her. He used an attack that she had never seen before, an attack that she wasn't sure that he had ever used before, to save her. To protect her.
Somewhere close by, and yet far away, she thought, on the edge of her mind or her hearing, she heard a soft, familiar giggle.
She decided, for the sake of that giggle's owner, she would ignore it. For now.
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